‘Plein Air Smokies’ to benefit national park

The annual Friends of the Smokies art event runs September 21-28, 2024, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with final weekend festivities in Downtown Knoxville.

Friends of the Smokies, the official nonprofit philanthropic partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is thrilled to welcome 20 acclaimed artists to its annual Plein Air Smokies event. The artists will create one-of-a-kind paintings that capture the beauty of the Smokies and sell the artwork to raise money for the park.

The week begins with artists venturing to locations throughout the Smokies to paint scenic landscapes with their artwork available to purchase at the Collectors Soiree fundraiser on Friday, September 27, at Regas Square Events in Downtown Knoxville with special ticket purchase here.

Artwork remaining after the soiree will be available for the public to buy Saturday, September 28, at Regas Square Events.

The festivities continue throughout Downtown Knoxville on the morning of Saturday, September 28, with a Quick Draw contest anyone can enter. Competing artists must register online and pay a $30 entry fee by September 20. The morning of September 28, artists will sign in at the Market Square stage and then have until 11 a.m. to paint the location of their choice in Downtown Knoxville. Judges will review the artwork at 11:30 a.m. with prizes announced at noon. Art created during the Quick Draw will also be available to purchase. Full details are here with rules, schedule and how to register are at the Plein Air Smokies website: here.

Now in its third year, the previous two years of Plein Air Smokies raised more than $160,000 for the park.

Plein Air Smokies also gives local students from two area schools the chance to learn directly from professional artists. The students selected by their schools will spend a day in Great Smoky Mountains National Park creating their own pieces with instruction from plein air artists on techniques unique to outdoor painting.

“This event celebrates the longstanding tradition of artists capturing and sharing the beauty of the Smokies,” said Dana Soehn, president and CEO of Friends of the Smokies. “Artwork is an important way for people to make meaningful connections to this special place.”

A prestigious prize of the Quick Draw open competition is an invitation to be one of the Plein Air Smokies artists in 2025. Susan Waters of Georgia won the 2023 Quick Draw open competition and returns in 2024. She joins plein air artists Harsh Agrawal, Marc Anderson, Zufar Bikbov, John Caggiano, Henry Coe, Vlad Milan Duchev, Orville Giguiento, John Guernsey, Neal Hughes, Shelby Keefe, Chuck Marshall, Dylan McKnight, Charles Newman, Kathie Odom, Antwan Ramar, Jeremy Sams, Richard Sneary, Richie Vios and Stewart White.

More information on this year’s artists, sponsors and the full schedule of events are available at the Plein Air Smokies website.

Friends of the Smokies would like to thank the many sponsors of this year’s events. Plein Air Smokies is presented by Lexus of Knoxville and Toyota Knoxville. The Quick Draw competition is presented by Visit Knoxville.

About Friends of the Smokies:

Since its establishment in 1993, Friends of the Smokies has raised more than $90 million to fund projects and programs that preserve and protect the national park. In 2024, Friends provided more than $3.7 million to fund more than 70 needs in the park. Learn more about the mission of Friends and how to make a tax-deductible gift at FriendsOfTheSmokies.org.